Big data booming in China's 'Grass Sea'

World
Europe

In southwest China's Guizhou Province, the 12,000-hectare Grass Sea reserve and, in a move to develop the region, the entire area has been "digitalized," becoming part of the "Grass Sea cloud."

The reserve, with one of China's most famous plateau lakes, Caohai Lake, is home to more than 1,900 animal species, including the nationally protected black-necked crane.

The Grass Sea big data system monitors the hydrological, environmental, meteorological and biological situation of the reserve and uploads related information to a big data cloud, which is under real-time surveillance.

The reserve is home to one of China's famous plateau lakes and more than 1,900 species of animal. /Xinhua Photo

Chen Bo, head of Weining County where the lake is located - and a newly-appointed "cloud chief" - said the cloud was the key to the ecological protection of the reserve.

Although considered to be one of the least developed regions in China, Guizhou has managed to become a pioneer in China's big data industry due to its beneficial climate, power supply and network infrastructure. Big data is being widely applied in government management, business and daily life.

With the governor in charge, the provincial government has set up a leading group for big data. Leaders at various local levels are designated as "cloud chiefs," responsible for big data development within their regions.

"The big data industry is a perfect opportunity for Guizhou to develop its economy without introducing polluting industries, while helping its poor population shake off poverty," said Jing Yaping, deputy director of the provincial big data development authority.

The United States tech giant Apple announced the opening of its first Chinese data center in Guizhou early July this year. With an investment of one billion US dollars, the data center plans to offer iCloud services on the Chinese mainland.

China's three largest telecom operators, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, had all built data centers in Guizhou. /Xinhua Photo

Before this, China's three largest telecom operators, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, had all built data centers in Guizhou. Construction of a data storage center for smartphone producer Huawei has also begun. Internet giants such as Alibaba and Tencent have also moved to establish cloud computing bases and big data centers in the province.

Jing said Guizhou was also leading the country in opening up government data: Opening up tax data has accelerated the credit investigations of local banks and their lending efficiency to small companies anfd opening up civil aviation data has fostered successful mobile apps that offer accurate flight information and related services to passengers.

A total of 28 big data scientific research institutions have been set up in Guizhou, as well as 23 incubators and investment organizations.

"Big data has also become a magnet for talent, enabling more young people to settle here," Jing said.

1731km

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency